A practice for the 2012 Delphos City Schools Amateur Show was held Thursdayafternoon at St. Peter Lutheran Church. Two more practices will be held before theshow, which will take place at 7 p.m. on March 24. Above: Taylor Coronada, left, and Arianna Knebel perform a dance to Kelly Clarkson’s song “Stronger.” Below:Timothy Menke, left, on saxaphone, and Eli Wurst on trumpet play “CruisingThrough the Park.”

Vancrest ‘Best of Best’ for third year

Information submitted

VAN WERT — Anapproaching weather systemcould mean the beginning of severe storm season in north-west Ohio.“There is the possibilityof a big severe weather out-break on Friday and VanWert County could be inthe middle of it,” Van WertCounty office of HomelandSecurity and EmergencyManagement Director RickMcCoy said.He went on to say themain dangers for this arealate Friday afternoon will bedamaging winds and possibleisolated tornadoes.The Storm PredictionCenter is forecasting a largesevere outbreak stretchingfrom Alabama to Michiganwhich could be more signifi-cant than the deadly outbreakon Tuesday in Missouri andIllinois.According to McCoy,abundant moisture will betransported into the OhioValley from the Gulf of Mexico. The ingredients forthe storms are a warm frontwhich will bring tempera-tures back into the middle60s, along with a strong jetstream, an approaching coldfront and a dynamic lowpressure system. The biggestthreat for supercell stormswith large, long-lived torna-does will likely be focusedon southern Indiana, southernOhio and northern Kentucky,while this area may have todeal with isolated twisters inthe late afternoon hours untilsunset.It is an early beginningto the severe storm seasondue to the La Niña weatherpattern this year. Last year,Van Wert experienced fourspring tornadoes beginningin April, which was also a LaNiña spring.The difference in the tim-ing is due to last year’s hardwinter, which caused storm-formation to be delayed untilApril when warmer weatherbegan. This year follows avery mild winter which willbring the severe weather ear-lier. McCoy feels this spellstrouble going through themonth of March because of warm ups followed by coldair masses moving in fromCanada which in turn causesstrong storms to develop.McCoy noted that look-ing at historical data from1965 and 1974, both of thosesprings followed mild win-ters. A big Palm Sunday tor-nado outbreak hit in 1965,while an F-5 tornado hitXenia in 1974.With these similarities inmind, McCoy warned localresidents to take Friday’ssevere weather threat seri-ously along with any futureearly spring storms thatdevelop. He cautioned peopleto review weather drills andplans and to have a weatherradio available for NationalWeather Service warn-ings, and statements madeby local media outlets andthe Van Wert EmergencyManagement frequency at155.805 on a scanner.McCoy also remindedthe public that in the eventhe activates the local sirensystems, they will soundfor only the portions of thecounty which are affected bya tornadoes path and that thesirens are not used for an “allclear” signal.

Severe storm risk for today

BY MIKE FORDmford@delphosherald.com

DELPHOS — For thethird consecutive year, thelocal long-term care facilityhas been deemed among thebest nursing homes in thecountry.Vancrest HealthcareCenter of Delphos has beenranked in U.S. News andWorld Report’s ‘Best of theBest’ nursing homes in Ohio.Life Enrichment CoordinatorAmber Bidlack, LSW, ADC,says being well-regarded bystate evaluators is typical atVancrest.“We’ve been ranked in thisfor three consecutive yearsand this is quite an honor forus. It’s all about the care; wefocus on the residents andwe have excellent staff. Ourstate survey last year foundus deficiency-free in qualityof care. They take surveysonce a year and we’ve alwayshad good surveys. It showswe’re doing something right,here,” she said. “Every otheryear, the state takes a family-satisfaction survey and then,the next year, they take aresident-satisfaction survey.Every year, they come intoour building and inspect.They’re very thorough andthey aren’t able to find anyproblems with us. We prideourselves on quality care andwe pride ourselves on beingamong the best of the best.”She says the evaluationdoesn’t rank the whole nation,but each state separately.“The government looks atdifferent aspects of the nurs-ing home and chooses the topones in each state. It’s meantto be a helpful thing for thefamilies to know what the topnursing homes are and whythey’re ranked so highly,”Bidlack said.Vancrest of Delphosreceived five of five stars onthe following criteria:Overall — From ratingsin health inspections, nursestaffing, and measures of medical-care quality;Health Inspections — Howwell this home met healthand safety standards for foodpreparation and other nursing-home activities in the latestthree state inspections. Suchinspections are conducted atleast every 15 months;Quality Measures —Percentages of residents whogot recommended care, suchas flu vaccinations, and per-centages of residents whohad pain, bedsores, urinarytract infections, and othercare-related problems.Vancrest got 3 out of 5 stars on Nurse Staffing.Administrator CindyLangenkamp said that isbecause the criteria is tocompare the number of regis-tered nurses alone to the stateand national averages. Sheexplained that many facilitieshave a lot of registered nurs-es working in management,whereas Vancrest has nurseswith other types of licensureon hand. She said the stateaverage is one RN to 15 resi-dents but Vancrest has abouthalf that, with approximately6-8 residents for each per-son licensed for direct patientcontact across the facility,where people come and goon any given day, includingthe rehabilitation wing.

Photo submitted

Vancrest Healthcare Center in Delphos has been named among the U.S. News andWorld Report’s “Best of the Best” nursing homes in Ohio for the third year in a row.

Library offers‘Luck of the Irish’

The children’s depart-ment of the Delphos PublicLibrary has announced anafter-school arts and craftsprogram with special guestCathy Fought entitled The“Luck of the Irish.”It will be held from 4-5p.m. on March 13 and isopen to children in gradesK-5 and includes leprechauncraft, stories and fun.Registration is required asthere is a limit of 30 kids.Call the library at419-695-4015.

Trivia Challengeset April 6

The Delphos UnionBank Relay For Lifeteam will host the 10thannual Trivia Challengeat 8 p.m. on April 6 at theDelphos Eagles Lodge.Teams consist of eight to10 members who put theirheads together to answer onpaper 10 rounds of questionsin a variety of categories.A $10 donation perperson is collected.To register, or for moredetailed information, contactJudy Fetter at 419-339-1954, Doris Neumeier at419-692-3382 or MargieRostorfer at 419-692-5106.

Baseball, softballsign-ups planned

Registration for youthbaseball/softball is set for9 a.m. to noon on Saturdayand March 10 in the FranklinElementary cafeteria.Fees are payable at thattime. A parent or guardianmust sign the registrationform.Boys wishing to playin the 7/8-year-old JuniorBaseball; 9- to 12-year-oldMinor/City leagues; and 12-to 15-year-old Pony Leaguemust sign up.Any 9/10-year-old witha birth date between May 1,2001, and April 30, 2003,must bring a birth certificateor other proof of age.Girls who attended grades2-8 during the 2011-12 schoolyear are eligible for softball.Those wishing to play mustsign up on these dates. Nolate registration is allowed.Forms may be picked up atthe schools.Children eligible forKnothole League includeboys ages 5-6 and girls whoattended kindergarten orfirst grade during the currentschool year. There is no feebut a registration form mustbe completed.

DELPHOS — CitySchool District vot-ers here will see a 5.5-mills Current OperatingExpenses Levy renewalon Tuesday’s PrimaryElection Ballot.The measure was firstapproved in 1982 andgenerates approximately$600,000 a year, accord-ing to the Allen Countyauditor. If not passed, itwill expire Dec. 31.School officialsremind voters the levyis a renewal and neces-sary for the day-to-dayoperations of the districtincluding teaching mate-rials, utilities, cleaningsupplies, insurance, sala-ries, etc. It also pays fortransportation expensesfor eligible students fromboth the city and paro-chial schools, along withspecial needs services forboth schools.If passed, the districtwill be able to continueto offer the services cur-rently provided.“It will allow ourstudents to continue toreceive a good qual-ity education,” InterimSuperintendent FrankSukup said. “We havereceived an excellent rat-ing from the State of Ohioon the State Report Cardfor the past three years aswell as maintaining oneof the lowest cost-per-pupil rates in the state.We are doing somethingright.”The district has mademore than $1.4 million incuts since 2006, includ-ing the elimination of 30 jobs and 32 supplemen-tal contracts. The schoolswent to pay-to-partici-pate this year, saving thedistrict approximately$100,000 a year.The teaching staff isalso sharing the burdenof reducing costs, takinga pay and step-increasefreeze on their last con-tract.“I don’t know whereelse we can cut,” SchoolBoard President JohnKlausing said. “We’vebeen cutting for the lastseven years. We are doingthe best we possibly canwith what we have.”Sukup said the districtunderstands the econom-ic hardships residentsface.“We are taking nothingfor granted. We are hop-ing for a positive result,”Interim SuperintendentFrank Sukup said. “Weknow these are toughtimes and a lot of peo-ple are hurting. We hopepeople see the need tofund and support theschools. With the statecutting funding eachyear, we have to decidewhat kind of educationwe want to give our kidsin the district.”If not passed, vot-ers will see the measureagain.“The levy is vital tothe financial health of thedistrict; therefore, it willneed to be placed againon the November 2012ballot,” Klausing said.

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High temperature Thursdayin Delphos was 45 degrees,low was 29. High a year agotoday was 41, low was 27.Record high for today is 69,set in 1992. Record low is -7,set in 1980.Angela B. Kimmet, 90,of Delphos passed awaythis morning at VancrestHealthcare Center.Arrangements are incom-plete at Harter and SchierFuneral Home.

Deborah Sue Best, 74,of Bremerton, Wash., diedSunday.She was born Jan. 8, 1938,in Columbus, to CarltonForry and Mingion (Moore)Crossmack, who preceded herin death.She married John LeanderBest on Oct. 5, 1958. He pre-ceded her in death.Survivors include sonMichael Best of Arizona;daughters Robin (Mark) Siefkerof Findlay and Sheri (Robert-O.J.) Simpson of Bremerton;brothers David (Kathlyn)Forry of New Hampshire andKingsley (Sally) Forry of Florida; sisters-in-law SandyAveresch, Darlene Best andMarjorie Bruskotter; 11 grand-children and 18 great-grand-children; and her closest friend,her dog, Peppy.She was also precededin death by her stepfather,Ray Crossmack; and brother,Dudley Forry.Mrs. Best served in theUnited States Air Force. Shewas a member of the DelphosOrder of the Eastern Star, theDelphos CB Club and FirstUnited Presbyterian Church.She worked at the Rambler’sRoost when she lived inDelphos.Services begin at 2 p.m.Sunday at Harter and SchierFuneral Home, Rev. Dr.David Forry officiating. Burialwill be in Ridge Cemetery.Friends may call from 2-7p.m. Saturday and one hourprior to the service on Sunday.Special services will be heldby the Order of the EasternStar and Delphos VeteransCouncil.Memorials are to the Orderof the Eastern Star or donor’schoice.

SIEFKER,

Robert Lee,56, of Kalida, Mass of Christian Burial will beginat 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St.Michael Catholic Church, theRev. Mark Hoying officiat-ing. Burial will follow in thechurch cemetery. Visitationwill be from 2-8 p.m. on todayat Love-Heitmeyer FuneralHome, Jackson Township (onthe corner of US 224 and St.Rt. 634), where there will be aKnights of Columbus Rosaryat 7 p.m. Memorials may bemade to Ronald McDonaldHouse or to NationwideChildren’s Hospital.Condolences can be made to:www.lovefuneralhome.com.

David L.,57, of Middle Point, funeralservices will be held at 11a.m. Saturday at Cowan andSon Funeral Home in VanWert, the Rev. Paul Millerofficiating. Burial will followin Mt. Pleasant Cemetery inHoaglin Township of VanWert County. Friends maycall from 6-8 p.m. today andone hour prior to the serviceSaturday at the funeral home.Preferred memorials are toAmerican Heart Association.Expressions of sympathy maybe forwarded at: cowanfuner-alhome.com.

Officials to widen probe into Ohio adoptive father

By ANN SANNERand DAN SEWELLAssociated Press

TROY — Federal and locallaw enforcement officials saidthey’re widening the investi-gation into child sexual exploi-tation allegations against anadoptive father charged withraping three boys in his care.Officials said the fatherhired one of the boys, a10-year-old, out for sex, pros-tituting him. The father andtwo other men remained in jail Thursday on rape charges.The father’s name is beingwithheld by The AssociatedPress to protect the children’sidentities.The boy shook whenasked about being prostitut-ed to two men, according topolice. They said the childwas fearful of talking becausehe didn’t want to be takenfrom his home or separatedfrom his new siblings.Troy police said theyimpounded the father’s truckand seized four laptops fromthe home and a video cameraand two wooden paddles fromthe master bedroom. The fatherworked out of his home as aninsurance claims adjuster.School officials said theman had recently withdrawnthe three adopted childrenfrom school, saying he wouldhome school them. A neigh-bor said he had no idea any-thing lurid might be going onin the home.“You don’t know whatgoes on inside people’shomes,” said neighbor EdRogers, who had lived acrossthe street from the man thepast five years in a neighbor-hood lined with single-storyranch homes, typical in thisworking class city of 25,000people about 20 miles north of Dayton. “I’ll never look at thathouse the same way again. I’ll just look at it with sickness.”The man at the center of the investigation is a longtimeTroy resident who had beeninvolved in a local youth bas-ketball program. Police Capt.Chris Anderson said police sofar haven’t found any signsof any inappropriate behaviorwith other children, even ascalls poured in from worriedparents.

BOWLING GREEN (AP)— A driver going the wrongway on Interstate 75 in Ohiocrashed head-on into a carcarrying Bowling Green StateUniversity students, killingboth drivers, two other stu-dents and injuring two others.The accident happenedearly this morning in WoodCounty.Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn says theaccident occurred at a crestin the highway and he doubtsthe legal northbound driverhad any warning.Bowling Green StateUniversity says it is work-ing with police and hospitalofficials to notify families of the victims.The Ohio State HighwayPatrol says the students weregoing north on the interstateon the way to the Detroitairport.The university’s springbreak begins Saturday.

Iran’s top leader urgeshigh turnout in elections

By ALI AKBAR DAREINIAssociated Press

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’ssupreme leader urged Iraniansto vote in large numbers as thecountry held parliamentaryelections today, saying a highturnout would send a strongmessage to the enemies of thenation in the nuclear standoff with the West.The balloting for the290-member parliament isthe first major voting sincethe disputed re-electionof President MahmoudAhmadinejad in June 2009and the mass protests andcrackdowns that followed.It is unlikely to changeIran’s course over major pol-icies — including its con-troversial nuclear program— regardless of who wins,but it may shape the politicallandscape for a successor toAhmadinejad in 2013.And with the oppositioneffectively crushed, the elec-tions amount to a popularitycontest between conservativesupporters of Supreme LeaderAyatollah Ali Khameneiand their rivals who backAhmadinejad.Khamenei, who has finalsay on all state matters inIran, said it was a “duty anda right” for every eligibleIranian to vote, especiallynow that the “Iranian nationis at a more sensitive period”amid the confrontation withthe West.“Because of the controver-sies over Iran and increasedverbal threats; the more peo-ple come to the polling sta-tions, the better for the coun-try,” Khamenei said aftercasting his ballot in Tehranearly today.“The higher the turnout,the better for the future,prestige and security of ourcountry,” he added. “Thevote always carries a mes-sage for our friends and ourenemies.”A high turnout will beseen as a major boost forIran’s ruling Islamic system,showing popular support andallowing it to stand firm inits refusal to halt uraniumenrichment. The West sus-pects Iran’s program is gearedtoward making nuclear weap-ons, a charge Tehran denies,insisting it’s for peaceful pur-poses only, such as energyproduction.Iranian state TV went livefrom several polling stationsin Tehran and the provinces,showing long lines of peoplewaiting to vote, followed by acommentary saying the lineswere a “disappointment to thebad-wishers.”It claimed the U.S. and itsallies were hoping for a lowturnout that would show divi-sions and a weakened Islamictheocracy, making it easierfor the West to pressure Iranover the nuclear issue. TheTV headlines proclaimed theelections as a day of “nationalsolidarity” and a “rebirth of the nation.”More than 48 millionIranians are eligible to vote atthe nearly 47,000 polling sta-tions across the nation.In the absence of majorreformist parties, whichwere kicked off the politi-cal stage over the 2009 post-election turmoil, today’s voteis seen as a political battle-ground for competing con-servative factions supportingKhamenei and those backingAhmadinejad.The two groups were onceunited but turned againsteach other after crushingreformists in the upheavalsthat followed Ahmadinejad’sdisputed re-election. Thesplit dates back to last year,when many conservativesturned into strong critics of Ahmadinejad after he daredchallenge Khamenei overthe choice of intelligencechief in April and other pol-icies.

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From the Vantage Point

Vantage students qualify for state competition

Vantage Career CenterBusiness students recentlycompeted in the first roundof Region 16 BusinessProfessionals of Americaskills contests at Celina HighSchool. Fifty-seven studentsfrom the Vantage businessprograms Interactive Media,Medical Office Managementand Network Systems com-peted in a variety of differ-ent contests, including PCSecurity, VB Programming,Fundamental Accounting,Medical Office Procedures,Web Site Design, ComputerAnimation, NetworkDesign, Advanced OfficeSystems and Procedures andAdministrative Support. Inall, 28 students earned theright to advance to the statecompetition held in Columbusin the spring.Network Systems’senior Bart Barthels (VanWert) placed first in VBProgramming, while juniorMichael Hasch took thirdplace. The team of IsaacSimerman (Crestview),Taylor Aldrich (Jefferson),Justin Van Horn (Jefferson),Phillip Stemen (Fort Jennings)and Austin Meyer (Ottoville)qualified for state competi-tion by placing first in theParliamentary ProcedureTeam contest. The NetworkDesign Team of Jacob Puthoff and Gage Regedanz, bothfrom Parkway, garnered firstplace honors. Kody McCague(Paulding), placed first in PCTroubleshooting and Repair.The team of Storm Dunakin,Nathan Theis, Brandon Jarrell,(all Paulding) and Stephan(Wayne Trace), took firstplace in the Web ApplicationTeam event. Senior DakotaTalbott (Paulding) receivedtop honors in the ComputerModeling contest.Jasmine Price (Antwerp),a senior in the Medical OfficeManagement program,placed first in FundamentalAccounting. Four stu-dents — Chelsea Grimes(Antwerp), Brianna Vogt(Continental), MackenzieHanenkratt (Paulding) andBreyanna Longdo (Paulding)— joined forces to take firstplace in the AdministrativeSupport Team contest. TressaRingwald (Lincolnview)took first place in theDesktop Publishing competi-tion, while Brittney McCoy(Lincolnview) placed secondin the Interview Skills contest.Tegan Felver (Parkway) tooktop honors in FundamentalWord Processing. MikaylaStetler (Parkway) placed firstin Medical Office Proceduresand Olivia Hook (WayneTrace) placed third. CalebLawrence (Wayne Trace)took second place in theAdvanced Interview Skillscontest.Students who qualified forthe state contest will com-pete March 15 and 16 inColumbus.SkillsUSA students recent-ly competed in the first roundof the Northwest Regionskills contests at SentinelCareer Center in Tiffin. Fivestudents will advance to thestate competition held inColumbus in the spring.Bringing home the goldwas Health Technologysenior Rebecca Thomas(Parkway), who placed firstin the Nurse Assisting com-petition. Dylan Williams(Continental), a senior in theCarpentry program receiveda Bronze medal in theCarpentry contest. SeniorPrecision Machining’sJacob Chavarria (Van Wert)placed second in the CNCMilling contest and receiveda silver medal. Dylan Long(Parkway), an Auto Bodysenior received a bronzemedal in the Collision Repaircontest. Senior HealthTechnology’s ChelseaFarquhar received a silvermedal in the CPR/First Aidcontest.Students who qualified forthe state contest will competein Columbus at the end of April.